Who Could Hate Shiva? Who Could Hate His Own Daughter?

When he heard that her father, Dakṣa, had ruined her marriage, Vidura asked, “Bhava is the best among the virtuous, and Dakṣa was affectionate towards his daughters. So how could he have done something so hateful and uncaring towards his own daughter, Satī?

“Bhava is calm, self-satisfied, and inimical to no one,” Vidura continued. “And even if he did have any fault, he is the guru of everyone and everything. Who could possibly feel hatred towards that great deity of the world?

“Oh brāhmaṇa,” Vidura concluded, “please tell me the story of the argument between son-in-law and father-in-law, which caused Satī to throw away the life that we all cling to.”